The White House and the U.S. Senate must stand firm behind the nomination of Dr. Vivek Murthy for the position of U.S. Surgeon General and move forward with his confirmation. The health interests of America's families must be paramount for the choice of a Surgeon General, not the narrow political interests of the NRA and the extremist gun lobby.
Why is this important?
Emboldened by its influence on Capitol Hill, the NRA is now flexing its muscles and actively working to derail Dr. Vivek Murthy’s nomination and confirmation to the position of U.S. Surgeon General. Why? Because, like many other doctors, he has in the past referred to gun violence as a threat to public health.
Dr. Murthy is a Harvard- and Yale-educated doctor at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. His concern for gun safety is completely consistent with the consensus of medical and public health experts, and shared by such groups as the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Public Health Association. Even C. Everett Koop, the legendary Surgeon General nominated by Ronald Reagan, described gun violence as a “public health emergency.”
The NRA has no business meddling in who should be the United States’ foremost champion for public health issues. Tell the White House and the U.S. Senate to stand firm behind the nomination of Dr. Murthy for the position of U.S. Surgeon General and to move forward with his confirmation!
